


One Fine Day, In The Middle of the Night

by I_have_a_Mycroft_of_my_very_own



Series: Forever [5]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Barduilweek, Theme 4: Animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-02
Updated: 2015-07-02
Packaged: 2018-04-07 07:20:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4254390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_have_a_Mycroft_of_my_very_own/pseuds/I_have_a_Mycroft_of_my_very_own
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Somewhere fun. Come on.” Bard pulls, and to his amazement, Thranduil moves, knowing that if Thranduil truly wanted to, not even Bard could move him. Thranduil puts the paper down carefully, and allows himself to be dragged to his feet, and led out of the house.</p>
<p>“Any reason you’re keeping our destination secret?” Thranduil asks, lightly pulling free of Bard’s grip to link his fingers through Bard’s.</p>
<p>“None.” Bard answers, but refrains from expanding further</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Fine Day, In The Middle of the Night

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Barduilweek, Theme 4: Animals. 
> 
> Title from a poem I love to pieces. I don't actually know who it is by though.... :/ The poem goes:  
> One fine day in the middle of the night,  
> Two dead boys arose to fight.  
> Back to back they faced each other,  
> Drew their swords and shot one other.  
> A deaf policeman heard the noise,  
> Came and shot the two dead boys.  
> If you don't believe this lie is true,  
> Ask the blind man, he saw it, too.

Bard watches Thranduil and doesn’t like what he sees. The bags under Thranduil’s eyes, the dullness that has begun to show in Thranduil’s normally vibrant hair, the way the starlight in his eyes seems to have gone out. The growing darkness in the forest was really taking its toll.

“Come on.” Bard says, pushing himself away from the doorframe and walking to his lover, grabbing Thranduil’s wrist.

“Where are we going?” Thranduil asks, his eyes never leaving the paper he’s currently examining. Bard is familiar with the Tengwar upon it, as he’s been seeing it more and more lately. Patrol routes, casualties, and requests.

“Somewhere fun. Come on.” Bard pulls, and to his amazement, Thranduil moves, knowing that if Thranduil truly wanted to, not even Bard could move him. Thranduil puts the paper down carefully, and allows himself to be dragged to his feet, and led out of the house.

“Any reason you’re keeping our destination secret?” Thranduil asks, lightly pulling free of Bard’s grip to link his fingers through Bard’s.

“None.” Bard answers, but refrains from expanding further.

He leads Thranduil out to the lake, and sinks down onto the ground beside the water, tugging Thranduil down with him.

“Bard?”

“Shh.” Bard says, lying on his back and looking up at the clouds above. Thranduil frowns at him, but follows his lead. “You ever done this before?” Bard asks, his hand still linked with Thranduil’s.

“Done what?”

“Look at the clouds?”

“No. We prefer to look at the stars.” Thranduil replies, watching the clouds.

“We prefer both.” They fall into silence for a little while, until Bard points up to the sky. “There, can you see it? It looks like a dragon.” Thranduil follows Bard’s hand and he frowns.

“It just looks like a cloud.”

“Use your imagination, Thran!” Bard answers, rolling his eyes.

“Alright, alright. I can _kind of_ see it. If I squint really hard.”

“That one looks like an elk.” Bard says, pointing to another cloud, a smile on his face. “And that one looks like a cat.”

“That one looks like a pig.” Thranduil says, smiling softly as he points to another cloud.

“Look, it’s a lion!” Bard exclaims, excitedly, pointing to a cloud slowly peeking out from behind another.

“Hmm, I guess. The one beside it looks like a rabbit.”

“There’s an oliphaunt, too.”

“That one looks like a fish.”

“And there’s a bear!”

They lay like that for hours, pointing out the different animals in the clouds until darkness fell and the stars came out.

\--

Thranduil sighs contentedly and turns to look at Bard, who is staring up at the stars with great wonder on his face.

“Bard?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you.” Thranduil says, rolling over to cuddle into Bard’s side. “I really needed this.”

“I know.” Bard murmurs, running his hand through Thranduil’s hair, which shone in the moonlight. “You told me once, that being a king was hard. That sometimes you forget to take a step back and carve out some time for yourself. I think we both needed this.”

“Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.”

“Truer words have yet to be spoken.”

“Oh, I can think of a few.” Thranduil replies, with a grin.

“Oh?”

“For instance ‘we are very dead when our children discover we’ve spent the entire day without guards, outside the city walls’.”

“Oh.”

“Mm. A few more minutes, and then we should head back.”

“Agreed.”

As it happens, they don’t head back that night. Instead, they remain, sleeping under the stars. At about midnight, Thranduil’s elk, Moosey, comes to lie down beside them, and guard them in their slumber, peaceful as it is, for once. And all was not right in the world, but it was certainly _better._


End file.
